Wednesday, February 22, 2012

I had a nice intro written about my daughter catching snow on her tongue while x-country skiing and watching the snow swirl under the light from our headlamps, but somehow it got lost. Thanks blogger. So, I'll get right to it. Here's what I've been working on....

On the Go...
I finally finished my interlocking stars quilt top. I followed Elizabeth's instructions to press the seams open, and I was pleasantly surprised with the results. I've always been pretty against open seams, as they always seemed like, well, just too much work. But I have to admit the top lies nice and flat, and I didn't have to pin any of the seams. Up next is a backing pieced from my stash, and some free-motion quilting. Hopefully I'll have a finished quilt to show you next week. This baby is due asap. (And, no, not mine this time.)

Interlocking Stars Quilt - pattern by Elizabeth Hartman

Finished....
I made a quick pillow for my friend's little girl who turned 2 last week. My husband thought I was crazy to make a 2-year old a pillow, when she probably really wanted a toy. I explained to him that the pillow is really for her mom who will appreciate it much more than a toy that beeps, squeaks or sings. At least I'm that kind of mom. I gave embroidery a try for the first time. I have a ways to go, but I actually enjoyed the process. Thank goodness for youtube. I was going to give hand quilting a try too, but I just ran out of time. I'd love to make some pillows for my own kids so I'll try it then.

I just joined Angela's UFO group on flickr. I'm hoping it will help me to take stock of my UFO's, and finally make a dent in them. And I think I might even give up on a couple of them. You know the ones. With the fabric that is brown, green and maroon. Oh, yes, I have a couple of those.

Wednesday, February 8, 2012

It's been pretty slow this week. But here's what I've been working on.

On the Go...

I've made good progress on my "Little Man" quilt. I love that this quilt is completely out of my stash. Everything. Batting, binding, sashing, backing, fat quarters. Unfortunately, it didn't even make a dent...

I finished the straight line quilting this morning and got the binding made and sewn it on the front.

Now I just have to hand-sew the back of the binding. Perfect excuse for some mindless TV. Hubby and I have been watching "Once upon a Time." What are you watching these days?

Just Started...

I did start one new project this week. But it is a surprise. I cut into my purple Sleeping Beauty for this one. I love this fabric and it has been in my stash for way too long. Hi. My name is Barb. And I'm a fabric hoarder. But I have to admit, it feels pretty good to see it in a project. Really good.

On hold...

Maple Leaf Rag. This is really all I want to work on, but between baby quilts and cleaning up the house for showings, this has been put aside. I hope to pull it out again this weekend.

Interlocking Stars. Still waiting on some Kona White. It should arrive any day. Thankfully the baby is still happy in utero.

Wonky Star Charity Quilt

Wonky 1/4 Square {Bee Inspired} Quilt

Colour Wheel Quilt

Hope you have a wonderful Wednesday. It is beautiful and sunny here in Northern B.C. I'm off for a walk with my kiddos.

Thursday, February 2, 2012

Oops. I missed WIP Wednesday yesterday. Hubby was home sick, so we had an impromptu family day and made a quick trip to Quesnel. We will be moving there eventually, and since I hadn't been there since September, it seemed like a good day for a road trip.

And the good news, while searching for the dance studio (which has moved, of course) I even found a new to me Quilt Shop that had lots of Moda fabric (sorry they don't seem to have a website. At least not one that I could google). Let me tell you, when you live in the land void of decent quilt shops, I'll take one that stocks Ruby, Hometown, Cosmo Cricket and the new Kate Spain any day.

So, since I missed the big link up yesterday, I'll just show a few shots of another baby quilt I've got in the works. My babysitter's mom is having a boy in a week or two, so I decided to use what I had on hand to make a quick baby quilt.

Little Man Pattern by Camille Roskelly. I love that it only uses 4 fat quarters.

I chose the Little Man pattern from Camille'sSimplify book. What a great pattern. It only uses 4 fat quarters and some background and border yardage and it goes together fast. As in, really fast. I had the quilt top made in no time. And I used up every last scrap to make a striped backing too.

Striped Backing

And I have to say, I'm pleasantly surprised how well it turned out. I don't really love the fabric line. It is "Be a man" by David Day. I think I bought the fat quarters and some yardage when I found it on sale and I was feeling guilty that I never make anything for my son. I still feel a bit guilty that I never make him anything, but it feels great to use up this fabric.

Now I just have to the thing quilted. I'm thinking straight lines since my machine is being fussy about stippling these days. Might be time for a tune-up. I just can't bare to be without it while it is in the shop.